Past Events

Past EventsMonday, February 23

Antony Lentin: the Rise and Fall of Sir Edgar Speyer

Sir Louis Blom-CooperAntony LentinSimon Kinder

Sir Edgar Speyer was a much admired US-born philanthropist who, among his many contributions, founded the Whitechapel Art Gallery, financed the construction of new tube lines, and rescued the Proms from collapse. Shortly after the outbreak of WWI, however, Speyer was accused of being a spy. In Banker, Traitor, Scapegoat, Spy?Antony Lentin outlines Speyer’s dramatic rise and fall: a moral tale that encapsulates the tragedy and injustice of war. He examines Speyer’s enigmatic life with Sir Louis Blom-Cooper and Simon Kinder, a spy-enthusiast.